N. Korea keeps up charm offensive despite S. Korea's rejection

North Korea continued its charm offensive toward South Korea on Tuesday despite Seoul's clear rejection of a series of overtures by Pyongyang.

North Korea repeated its demand that South Korea scrap its upcoming joint military drills with the United States, saying Seoul should immediately halt "hostile military actions."

The North's main newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, said the country's recent overture is designed to end the armistice and establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The two Koreas still remain technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.

Last week, the North's powerful National Defense Commission called for an end to all slander and hostile military actions between the two Koreas as it dangled the prospect of reunions of families separated by the Korean War.

The North later vowed to take the first steps to fulfill its proposal, failing to elaborate.

South Korea has dismissed the North's overtures as a "deceptive" ploy. Some analysts also said the North's conciliatory gestures cold be an attempt to lay the groundwork for possible provocations against South Korea.

North Korea has a track record of carrying out provocations after making conciliatory gestures toward South Korea. The North carried out a third nuclear test in February last year, a month after the North called for an improvement in inter-Korean ties.